


A New Kind of Boredom

by chromicAcid



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 06:04:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19419979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chromicAcid/pseuds/chromicAcid
Summary: The Batter is not entirely content with the pure world he has created. For one, it is remarkably boring. Written for the "addiction / withdrawal" prompt for Bad Things Happen Bingo.





	A New Kind of Boredom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Acertory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acertory/gifts).



He could not say that he regretted his decision.

The world was dying, slowly and painfully. If the world had a face it would be sallow and rotting, twisted in anguish. The residents were reflections of this - either broken under the weight of debilitating fear, or turning to sugar. It was common for them to simply burn out and die, reborn as a monster. At least, that is what the Batter saw happen to the Elsen. The sight almost caused sympathy to form, but he refused to feel such a thing for the threatening monsters that formed from the bizarre process that overworked elsen often underwent. No matter how one viewed the situation, these 'burnt' creatures were dangers to the rest of the world's inhabitants and had to be dealt with, lest any harm come to them. Spectral entities were another threat to a safe life here, as they took on a variety of forms and were unpredictable, choosing to harass elsen, damage property, or to outright kill. The 'safe life' was practically nonexistent thanks to these two forms of monsters, not to mention the presence of sugar in certain zones. Being given the task to remove all trouble and evil from the world was, therefore, a considerable one.

_He did, however, manage to complete his mission - a switch, guarded by a child as weak and deathly as the rest of the world, that was thought to be keeping the entire world 'on', whatever that meant. The Batter reached for the switch and pulled it down before the cat at his feet could get up, before his Player could pull him away from his goal. At first, darkness hit his senses, and he considered the possibility that he had begun to cease existing. Fine by him. However, some sensation returned, and his eyes opened in the confusion. The switch was afront him, pulled down most of the way but caught somewhat upon its own mechanisms. The Judge was gone entirely. The room looked the exact same, and yet felt as if it was a pristine type of empty._

Perhaps it was his nerves, he thought, that caused him to tense and raise his bat in response to the slightest movement. He did admit that he had begun to feel agitated, maybe even jumpy, but he did suppose that was the result of the complete emptiness. In many ways, this emptiness was exactly what the Batter had wanted. No more spectres, no burnts, and no Elsen, save one. It could be seen as a great kindness to the eternally-suffering creatures to end their pain. This being said, something felt wrong. There was some level of boredom caused by living in an empty, sterile world.

Yes, boredom. The kind of boredom that made a familiar full-body rush of excitement cloud over him, only to dissipate most unsatisfyingly and leave behind the restless energy that caused a desperate ache in his mind and limbs. Indeed, boredom.

The Batter stretched, then raised his weapon, taking a few practice swings in the air while envisioning a spectre in front of him. Though the movement did feel good, it did nothing to sate the restlessness. Nor did running, that too preoccupied his mind and cured boredom, but didn't even scratch the surface of the need for some specific preoccupation. It felt as if he itched for something to do, however any distractions he thought of did not help. Occasionally, when particularly startled, the Batter felt a promise of relief from this boredom when the world seemed to compress and entered battle time. Without an opponent on the other end, the promise faded, and the frustration resumed. He began to walk, wondering what this experience meant despite his own lack of disposition to give careful thought to such issues. A physical frustration at having nothing to do, only satisfying itself when a battle was promised. Perhaps, then, this problem was with the lack of enemies to fight - though there was everything right with there being nothing. Was the purity worth it? Absolutely, he told himself. Would the world still be better gone entirely-?

He'd wandered to Zone 2. He didn't exactly remember the trip across the nothingness, but having done the journey enough times, it seemed to make sense that his mind would tune out such things, especially when in troubled thought about the incessant mental and physical burning for _something_.

The residential area seemed to be a nice place to place around, perhaps the change of scene could help him somewhat. He had spent more time than he should in Zone 0, gazing at the wealth of sugar in the Judge's wine cellar. The floor immediately surrounding the evil substance seemed to be a faint yellow, though that could easily have been a trick his eyes played upon him.

Startlingly, the vault door to the last functioning house opened itself with a most metallic and grating creak. The Batter approached it, clambering into the small room to see the last Elsen, the only one he knew of since he had pulled the switch. They stumbled out a greeting to the imposing man with a bat in hand.

"I didn't... I wasn't aware those were allowed in here."

At first, the Batter wanted to explain that there was no longer anyone to uphold such rules prohibiting his tool of purification, nor anyone at all for that matter, but held the words back. The Elsen, a small creature on their own, seemed to become even more puny upon inspection, a tendril of dark gas snaking its way from their mouth. Smoke often immediately preceded the process that formed burnts, which made the Batter want to inspect the elsen properly, but he could not do that without Wide Angle, which required an initiation of battle time. His mind slowed, his heart quickened, a warm tingling growing and trying to cloud his eyes. Red-hot anticipation rose and the frustrated aching disappeared.

And then he blinked, rubbing the bloodlust from his eyes, and saw the poor office worker drawn in on themself, eyes locked onto a creature surely larger than the Batter. Realising what had come over him, the Batter shrunk in a fusion of anger and shame, and the elsen's eyes followed him down until they were at eye level. There was no need to bring harm to this elsen, as surely they were pure enough to be left alive by the switch. He stated his apology for causing such fear, before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him, cursing himself all the while on his way back to Zone 0.

Back to the familiar cellar, with its close white walls, the large grey swan symbol, and piles of sugar. He reached out and held a few grains between his fingers, contemplating. The floor around the sugar definitely seemed to take on a faint, yellow colouration.

The Batter sat down, putting his bat on the floor and allowing his eyes to focus on the floor. He was rather tempted to put the pinch of sugar to his tongue, but opted to put the crystals back onto the pile nearby. If this zone still had some amount of colour, although a negligible amount of such hue, then there must still be some form of life in those addictive crystals. And, knowing this, the Batter could not bring himself to soothe his troubles with the alluring, sweet substance.

At least, not yet. Not while he still held some care towards the Elsen that the sugar once was.


End file.
